Ballonnet-gage



S. TRUSCOTT.

BALLONNET GAGE.

APPUCAUON FILED MAY 8, 1919.

1,3%,4 1 '7. A Patented July 6, 1920.

Suva-14 for for indicating to lo lamount of air in the ballonnet Vor ballonnets,

" the pilot, in order that the condition of the' D STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

STARR TRUSCOTT, OF BIRMINGHAM, 4OHIO.

BALLONNET-GAG-E. v

ratsam.

Specification of Letters Patent.

patented July 6,1920.

applic-aupa flied. nay s, 1919. semaine. 295,739.,

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, STARR Tmosoo'r'r, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Birmingham, in the county of Erie and State ofI Ohio, have invented new and useful improvements in Ballonnet- Gages, of which the following is a specification.

rlhe present invention relates to a device the pilot of a balloon, the

in order that calculations can be made to determine the volume of gas in the balloon, and it is the object of the invention to procharacter which is comparatively simple in construction, and practical in operation.

A further object is the provision of such a device including` means operated by the inflation and deflation of the ballonnet andl transmitting the changes in the condition ofthe ballonnet, through suitable means, to an indicator or gage under the observation of ballonnet will be accuratelyindicated or determinable.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will be apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the constructionv and .arrangement of parts hereinafter described, it Vbeing understood that changes can be lmade within the scope of what is claimed without departingy from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accomf panying drawing, 4whereinzfy Figure' 1 is a diagrammaticalside elevation of aballoon showing the Iapparatus in-k stalled, the yballoon and 'ballonnet' being .shown in side elevation with portions broken Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the i mechanism operated by the movement of the ballonnet for transmitting the changes to the indicator or gage.

dicator proper and the devices for making adjustments due to temperaturechanges and the like. v Y

The present appliance various 1 shown has the usual basket or car 2 sus pended therefrom, and is provided on the interior above the bottom with the ballonnets can be installed lin 3. Although two ballonne'ts are shown, there may be only one ,orv three or more', acc-ord.-

. of air in the ballonnets, f mayknow Fig. 3 is an elevation of the gage or in` `opening 10 balloons, and the dirigible balloon-` ing to the size of the balloon. The/se ballon nets 3, as .is well known, are inflated through a pipe or conduit 4 leading from a pump 5 or other means for supplying air' In other words, the ballonnet's'are inflated to Jcompensate'for a reductionin the amount of gas, or inthe volume thereof due to contraction, and when the gas expands, the ballonnets are deflated accordingly, so that the balloon 1 is kept conditions. rlhe presentl appliance is provided in order 'to indicate to the pilot lovolume or amount cated inthe car 2, the

in order that they the amount of gas remaining in the balloon. It is frequently important to know, when making a flight by balloon, the amount of gas in the bag,"because if too much gas has been lost, and the ballonnets. 'are completely inflated,

it is.dangerous to lose more gas', and ordinarily, vthe pilot has no way of determining when this condition is reached. L

l 'In carrying out the invention, tapes 6 or'l similar flexible elements are used, being attached at their upper'ends to the upper portions of the ballonnets, so that said tapes 'are raised when the ballonnets are inflated. As shown, there is a pair of tapes l6 for each ballonnet, near the opposite vends there,- of, although in some cases, a single tape at the center-of the b'allonnet will be sufficient,

but by using two or more tapes, especially for larger ballonnets tained for more accurate measurements. The lower end of each tape 6 is wound upon a drum 7 secu red on a shaft 8 mounted within a suitable frame 9 suspended within a pocket 10 that is sewed or otherwise fastened to thebottom ofthe balloon 1 and suspended therefrom under an opening 10 through which the tape 6 extends. This can be grometed or otherwise reinforced around its edge, and the pocket 10 will close the opening 10' to prevent the escapeof air. 'A spring 11 between the shaft Sand frame 9 tends to rotate the shaft when the ballonnet is drum 7, thereby rotat-v tensin ofI the an average can be obf properly inflated under .all

Jso

and drum so as to wind the tape 6 thereon.

deflated,`7and as the ballonnet is inflated, the tape y6 is raised and unwound lfrom the ing the shaft 8 against the spring 11. ln this Way, the inflation and deiation of the ballonnet is transmitted to theL shaft 8 which will 'rotate accordingly, and from the shaft 8, the motion is transmitt'ed to a gage or indicator, as will presently appear.

ln order to transmit the motion from ,the shaft 8, said shaft is screw threaded, as at l12, for operating a nut 13 carried 4by a yoke 14 connected to one end of an extensible chamber 15 having accordion sides. The other end of the chamber 15 is secured to the frame 9, so 'that the movement of the nut 13 will compress or expand the chamber v15. The chamber` 15 is filled with oil or other suitable fluid that extends within a tube lvconnected to and leading Afrom the chamber 15 down to a pressure gage or indicator 17 in the carQH rlihis Agage 17 is of ordinary construction, operated bythe pressureof the fluid in the tube 16, so that when the chamber 15 is contracted, the pressure willy rise accordingly and move the arrow 18 away from zero, andv when the chamber 15 expands, this will reduce the pressure accordingly. Therefore, as the ballonnet 3 risesand falls, due to the inflation and deflation thereof, the shaft 8 isrotated accordingly by the movement of lthe tape 6,` thereby moving the nut 15 and'yoke 15 longitudinally. The chamber 15'is thus contracted and expanded according tov the When using two or more tapes 6 in a ballonnet, thetubes 16 of the plurality of devices can be connected to a duplex gage 17, as seen in Fig. 3, with individual arrows or pointers 18 for the several tubes A16. An,

additional pointer 19 can be used for obtaining an average, in order that more accurate measurements can be obtained with large wie ballonnets, than with a single tape 6. Y the device as shown, this pointer 19 is set by hand midway between the pointers 18 to obtain the average reading.y

AAs ameans for making adjustments due to temperature changes, expansion and contraction chambers 2() are provided for the tubes 1 6, preferably near the gage 17 said chambers 20 being connected to branches 21 of said tubes, and adjusting screws -23 are carried by yokes 22'for expanding and contracting said chambers similar to the chambers 15 vabove described. Thus, when the temperature increases so as to expand the fluid, this would raise the pressure,. and

consequently throw the pointer backwardly, and onfl the other hand, should the temperature decrease, this will cause the fluid to contrastanti decrease the pressure so as to advance the pointer of -the gage. By adjusting the respective chamber 2O through the medium of the screw 23, the Huid will be taken into or discharged from the chamber 20 to compensate for the change in temperature, and therefore bring the pointer of the gage to the proper graduation or zero when the ballonnet is deflated entirely.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:- f 1. The combination with a balloon having a ballonnet therein, an indicator for indicating the inflated condition of the ballonnet, and means movable with the'ballon- 8e net and operatively connected with the indicator for operating the ,indicator according to the movements of the ballonnet.

2. rllhe combination with a balloon having a ballonnet therein, an indicator, means movable with the ballonnet, and means for transmitting the motion of said means to the indicator.

3. The'combination with a balloon having a ballonnet therein, a pressure indicator, a tube extending from said indicator to a point near theballonnet, and means operated by the ballonnet and connected to said tube for varying the pressure therein.

4:. 'llhe combination with a balloon having 95 a ballonnet, -of a pressure indicator, an adjustable fluid chamber, means operated by the ballonnet for expanding and contracting said chamber proportional Ito the infiation and deflation of the ballonnet, and a tube connecting said chamber and indicator for transmitting the pressure to the indicator.

5. The combination with a balloon having a ballonnet therein, of a pressure'indicator, 105 an adjustable fluid chamber, a tube connectl ingsaid chamber and indicator for transmitting the pressure, a drum operatively '.connected to said chamber for contracting and expanding it, a tape wound on the drum and connected to the ballonnet to unwind the tape from the drum when the ballonnet is inflated, and means for winding the tape on the drum when the ballonnet is deflated.

6. A balloon having a ballonnet therein and an opening leading to the ballonnet, a pocket attached to the balloon across said opening, an indicator, and means operable within said pocket connected to the indicator and extending through said opening and l2@ connected to the ballonnet to be operated thereby.

7. A balloon having va ballonnet therein and an opening leading through s'aid ballonnet, a pocket attached to the balloon across said opening, a tape extending through said opening and connected to the ballonnet, means within said pocket for winding up the tape and to be operated thereby when the vballonnet is inated, an 1S@ ice miam

indicator, and an operative conecton between said indicator and means Within the pocket.Y

8. A balloon having a ballonnet therein and an opening leading to the ballonnet, a pocket attached to the balloon across said opening, a frame suspended Within the pocket, a drum carried by said trame, a tape extending throughv said yopening, attached to the ballonnet and wound on vsaid drum, means for Winding the tape on 'the drum when the ballonnet is deflated, an indicator,

and means Within the pocket operated by said drum and operatively vconnected to said indicator.

9. The combination with a balloon having a ballonnet therein, of a multiple indicator,

and a plurality of means operated by said ballonnet When inllated vand deflated and "ing a plurality of pointers, tapes `)connected to the ballonnet at different points, means is deated and to be operated yby the tape when the ballonnet is inflated7 operative connections. between said means and the injor Winding up each tape When the ballonnet y dicator to individually move the pointers t according to the movement of the respective tapes, and another pointer carried by 'the indicator to obtain an average reading. v 35 In testimony whereof I'hereuntoset my hand. s

STARR TRUsooTT, 

